Appetizer: Bacon and Eggs
Not what you expected when you read bacon and eggs, huh? This is a great appetizer for the holidays, This is not your Mom's deviled egg recipe! I wanted to reinvent an old favorite by adding more of an umami flavor that is topped off with a sweet bacon jam. Nothing is sexier than a good bacon jam!
The Ancient History of the Deviled Egg states, "If we explore the roots of modern-day deviled eggs, they can be traced back to ancient Rome, where eggs were boiled, seasoned with spicy sauces and then typically served at the beginning of a meal—as a first course known as gustatio—for wealthy patricians." They found a recipe from the 13th Century in Spain for eggs stuffed with coriander, cilantro, and onion juice. A hot powdered pepper was added to the top of the egg giving it that hot, devilish taste.
By the 15th Century, we found that the stuffed egg had made its way to the new World and appeared in many Medieval cookbooks. This egg was stuffed with cheese and herbs such as marjoram, parsley, and mint and then fried in oil and topped with a sauce of cinnamon, ginger, cloves and raisins. (I don't know about you, but this sounds nasty!)
Thank goodness in 1896, a Bostonian took over the recipe and added mayonnaise as binder to the egg yolk. This was a challenge since mayonnaise was not commercially produced until 1907. Fast forward to the 1950's and on every buffet table was the deviled egg. There were many variations depending on your geographic location but remained true to the Roman stuffed egg form.
My variation of a stuffed egg is with capers, mayonnaise, ground black pepper, and topped off with homemade bacon jam. Trust me, this is extremely yummy and your guests will be very impressed. The hardest part of making this recipe is not to eat all the bacon jam before you top your eggs. No really, it's that good!
Let's get cooking you'll need:
6 hard-boiled eggs
1/2 lb of bacon - chopped into cubes
2 tbsp of mayonnaise
1 tbsp (heaping) brown sugar
1 tbsp. Balsamic Vinegar
1/4 tsp ground thyme
1/4 freshly ground black pepper
4 capers - chopped fine
1/4 onion sliced thinly
Parsley for garnish
Put the eggs in a pot and cover with cold water. You want to start your eggs in cold and bring them up to a boil. Allow the eggs to hard boil or cook for 12-14lbs (the yolk will be a little dryer for this recipe). Allow to cool and carefully peel - set aside.
We now are going to making bacon jam - just typing that out makes me smile. Ahhhhh bacon, the only thing better then crispy bacon, is making it sweet and sour at the same time. I'm not a fan of sweet and sour anything, but once the jam comes together, all you taste is salty and sweet.
Crisp the bacon in a shallow fry pan and drain on a paper towel. Remove all the bacon grease from the pan except for 2 tbsp. you'll need this to caramelize your onions.
Allow the bacon to cool completely before using.
Add the sliced onion to the bacon pan and allow them to slowly caramelize. Scrape the delicious brown bits off the bottom of the pan when you're stirring the onions.
If your onions are sticking to the bottom of the pan, add a little more bacon grease. (I never said this was a healthy recipe - just truly delicious!) Continue to cook until the onions are golden brown and return the bacon to the pan.
De-glaze the pan with the balsamic vinegar (scrapping the bottom) and add the brown sugar & ground thyme. Remove the heat and allow this mixture to cool. If your bacon is chopped too large, this is the time to give it a second chop on a cutting board.
This is one of those moments when you're thankful that you're the chef in the kitchen and have to taste for quality control reasons. This bacon jam would be great on grits, a baked potato, or a burger. Who am I kidding, you can put this stuff on an old shoe and it would taste good, yet I don't recommend it.
Carefully slice your egg in half and put the yolks in a dish. Take two forks and smash your egg yolks until they are very fine. Add the mayonnaise, the black pepper, and the chopped capers. You can substitute the capers for sweet relish or chopped pickles.
Put your filling inside of a zip-top bag and cut the lower end on an angle with a scissor. This will allow you to fill your eggs and not make a mess. Top the filled eggs with a little bacon jam and a leaf of parsley.
You're going to want to put extra bacon jam in the center of the dish. It makes a beautiful presentation and your guests can add more if they like.
I guess it's safe to say.....BACON AND EGGS ARE NOT JUST FOR BREAKFAST ANYMORE!
Enjoy